History SoYouWantTo / WriteAnExcusePlot

[[caption-width-right:256:A staple example of the Excuse Plot.]]

Are you tired of spending hours and hours wanting to write the next great American work? Do you just want to kick back and have the main idea set up as quickly as possible so you can get to the details, or use it to showcase the special effects or newest gimmick of the week? Wait no further; we'll show you how to do just that, with the tried and true ExcusePlot!

* LampshadeHanging: If a work is comedic and self aware, it could [[SelfDeprecation outright mock how irrelevant its own plot is for a laugh.]] For example, the first VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry had [[FourthWallObserver Cranky Kong]] poke fun at the games very simplistic plot.

** VideoGame/{{Doom}} co-creator Creator/JohnCarmack likewise has similar feelings about narratives in a game. Likewise, the ''Doom'' series relies on basic survival horror plots that serve as an excuse to shoot the crap out of the legions of hell.

* AllThereInTheManual: Often in older video games due to memory limitations, or as a preference in a more contemporary work, whatever plot the game has will usually be delegated to the manual, or in supplemental material like novels and comic book tie-ins. Fighting and racing video games frequently do this, even to this day.

* AllThereInTheManual: Often in older video games due to memory limitations, or as a preference in a more contemporary work, whatever plot the game has will usually be relegated to the manual, or in supplemental material like novels and comic book tie-ins. Fighting and racing video games frequently do this, even to this day.

* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' likewise rarely had anything resembling real stories, relying on wafer thin setups (i.e. Jerry is stealing a midnight snack, Jerry has protect work as a bodyguard for him) and vignettes to accommodate the series fast paced slapstick and pantomime.

-->"I don't care much about story--plot, as they call it. If you have the neatest tailored plot in the world and yet haven't personalities, living characters, you've nothing."

* WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry likewise rarely had anything resembling real stories, relying on wafer thin setups (i.e. Jerry is stealing a midnight snack, Jerry has protect work as a bodyguard for him) and vignettes to accommodate the series fast paced slapstick and pantomime.
* WesternAnimation/BettyBoop is an example of a cartoon series that prominently relies on the excuse plot. The films were structured like surrealistic music videos with gags and sex appeal sandwiched in.

* The Excuse Plot could leave little, or in worst case scenario, no room for strong characterization or SubText if mishandled, or alternatively, the lack of attempting characterization of spite of it could keep the work from being engaging.

* BeigeProse: While an excuse plot doesn't necessarily have to be simplistic, more often than not their plots can be easily summarized very concisely, often in one or two sentences at best. In example, the story of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' can be summarized as "Bowser has kidnapped the Princess and is trying to take over the Kingdom, and Mario has to save the day!" As mentioned above, many early video games usually reserved their backstory and plots [[AllThereInTheManual for the game manual]], with the conflict [[ShowDontTell being implied or shown instead of being described]]--and when they did describe a story in-game, it was always a brief box of text, including very quick to the point summaries like [[VideoGame/BadDudes "The president has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?"]]

* AllThereInTheManual: Often in older video games due to memory limitations, or as a preference in a more contemporary work, whatever plot the game has will usually be relegated to the manual. Racing video games frequently do this, even to this day.

* An excuse plot could possibly lead to a series work [[StrictlyFormula becoming formulaic.]] Even a critically acclaimed series like ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' (and its follow ups such as VideoGame/MegaManX) been criticized for almost always falling back on the threat of Dr. Wily and his robots (substitute with Sigma and his Mavericks in the X series) as a plotline, only being compounded by the [[HijackedByGanon increasingly transparent villain twists]] as the series ran their course.

* An excuse plot could possibly lead to a series work [[StrictlyFormula becoming formulaic.]] Even a critically acclaimed series like ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' has been criticized for almost always falling back on the threat of Dr. Wily and his robots as a plotline, only being compounded by the [[HijackedByGanon increasingly transparent villain twists]] as the series ran its course.

* ''Film/SpaceJam'' is a film that has been strongly criticized for this. The plot itself (WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and co. are forced to [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext team up with Michael Jordon to challenge aliens to a basketball game to save them from being enslaved in an alien amusement park]]) is an obvious vehicle for Jordan's comeback into basketball at the time, with the Looney Tunes sandwiched in for marque value--not to mention that the film itself was literally based on a series of sneaker commercials starring the Looney Tunes [[MerchandiseDriven shilling Air Jordan shoes]]. Creator/ChuckJones also criticized the film's plot, pointing out that Bugs could have [[IdiotPlot easily resolved the conflict in mere minutes]] [[BadassDecay if he had acted like he did in the original cartoons.]]

* BeigeProse: While an excuse plot doesn't necessarily have to be simplistic, more often than not their plots can be easily summarized very concisely, often in one or two sentences at best. In example, the story of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' can be summarized as "Bowser has kidnapped the Princess and is trying to take over the Kingdom, and Mario has to save the day!" Many early video games usually reserved their backstory and plots [[AllThereInTheManual for the game manual]], with the conflict [[ShowDontTell being implied or shown instead of being described]]--and when they did describe a story in-game, it was always a brief box of text, including very quick to the point summaries like [[VideoGame/BadDudes "The president has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?"]]

* An excuse plot could possibly lead to a series work [[StrictlyFormula becoming formulaic.]] Even a critically acclaimed series like ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' has been criticized for almost always falling back on the threat of Dr. Wily and his robots as a plotline.

->''"An idea has no worth at all without believable characters to implement it; a plot without characters is like a tennis court without players. WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck is to a ComicStrip/BuckRogers [[WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers story]] what John [=McEnroe=] was to tennis. Personality. That is the key, the drum, the fife. Forget the plot. Can you remember, or care to remember, the plot of any great comedy? [[Creator/CharlieChaplin Chaplin?]] [[Creator/WoodyAllen Woody Allen?]] [[Creator/MarxBrothers The Marx Brothers?]]"''

* Disney's ''Disney/TheJungleBook'' is acclaimed as a legitimate animated feature classic, even though its plot is wafer thin. Creator/WaltDisney specifically told the story artists to not read or follow the book, and even chewed them out when they had concerns over the simplistic story, saying the characters and entertainment were more important. Animator and story artist Floyd Norman, who worked on the film, [[http://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2015/5/5/requiem-for-a-gagman summed it up on his blog]]:
->''"With Pixar's string of successful movies it became popular among animation buffs to quote the familiar mantra, story, story, story. But, I remember it was no less than Walt Disney himself who chewed us out back during the development of "The Jungle Book." Because we thought we had legitimate concerns about the films' simple plot line. Well, we caught the wrath of the Old Maestro head on. "You guys worry too much about the story," Walt shouted. "Just give me some good stuff." And, what was that good stuff Walt Disney was talking about, you ask? Fun, humor, entertainment. In a word, Walt was speaking of gags. "The Jungle Book" didn't need a more involved story line because we already had great characters to work with. Let the humor come out of the situation, the characters, and the story will take care of itself."''

* The Excuse Plot could leave little, or in worst case scenario, no room for strong characterization or SubText.